Sermons on Teaching of Jesus (Page 2)

Easter Vigil

On this most Holy of nights, we hear the ancient texts with open hearts, renew our Baptismal vows, and let the wisdom of the ancients preach far better than we could on our own.

Maundy Thursday

As we begin the triduum, we meet Jesus and his disciples for their last supper as Jesus shares a new commandment and guidance for his friends as he continues to explain soon they will need to figure out life without him here on earth.

Pray

This week, Matthew’s gospel turns to Jesus teaching his disciples what it will mean for him to be the Messiah and the hard road ahead. While this text introduces the idea of suffering into the life of discipleship as followers of Christ, we are also called to ask how we move out of God’s way, out of our own way in developing lives of faith and communities that serve God, each other and the communities around us.

Who do you say that I am?

We encounter a shift in the flow of Matthew’s Gospel this Sunday and hear Jesus talk about all the people and profits others say Jesus may be, but the important question to his disciples and us was, who do you say that I am? As we move through our own lives as followers of Christ, what stories and narratives do we craft of who Jesus was, is, and continues to be in our lives?

Cultivating Mercy

Mercy! Mercy is something that is in short supply today. Mercy is showing compassion or forgiveness towards someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or ignore. Mercy is an act of kindness that springs forth from a generous heart.

The Dark Night of the Soul

I don’t know what storms you and your loved ones are facing, what darkness you and your loved ones feel surrounded by, but I do know this: before you even have the chance to pray, “Lord, save me,” Jesus is already by your side, holding you up, so you can walk back to the boat together.

Why not us?

In our gospel text for today, Matthew recounts the commissioning of the disciples and Jesus sending them out to heal and do important work. Hearing that the work they are called to is difficult and thus should travel light, we hear our own call to discipleship. As we listen for God’s call in our lives or see the need for response in our communities, maybe the response to that prayer is our own call to act as disciples of Jesus.

The Light and the Breath of the Spirit

There are two different accounts of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the gap between the two is the place that the Holy Spirit enters… we need the action of the Day of Pentecost but just as much we need the gentle breath of Jesus.

God Sustains

Following Jesus does not guarantee an easy life, in fact the opposite but even in times of change, grief and difficulty God’s hand sustains God’s beloved.